Wire-splicing process and apparatus



April 16, l1929. H. H. HELLER ET AL 1,709,015

WIRE SPLICING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed Jan. 20, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet l lli n lll wm, QW NM *D 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. H. HELLER ET AL WIRE SPLICING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed Jan. 20, 1926 1MM wvwmmmmw w April 16, 1929.

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n .mwN r April 16, 1929. H.`H. HELLER ET AL.

WIRE SPLICING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed Jan. 20, 1926 3 SheetS-Shee WS Mm W m Biff/d MM ATTORNEYS s Jlicino' ot" lead i a Patented Apr. 16, 1929.

UNITED STATES .MOND HILL, NEW YORK, A SSIGNORS LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK, A CO OF RIVERSIDE, CONNECTICUT, ND ERICK Gr. COIJSON, OF RICH- VIO FORD INSTRUMENT COMPANY, ING., 0F RIPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

WIRES`PLIGING PROCESS AND APPARATUS.

Application led January This invention relates to the splicing of electrical conductors and particularly to the wires to the terminal wires or' electrical coils.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a simple, rapid and e'llicient process and apparatus for the splicing of wire, whereby an eltective spliceis rapidly produced withoutthe necessity of touching the wire with the hands, so that the completed splice may be immediately soldered, if desired, without further preparation sueltas firming, cleaning or the like. However, for many purposes the splices will be suiliciently tight to obviate the soldering process.

In the art oi making electrical coils, particularly for use in radio and ignition apparatus for example, the wound units are usually manufactured by automatic winding machines, and, in order to be complete for the use intended, leads must be spliced,

soldered.` or otherwise attached to the termi.-`

I-Ieretoiore this nals oi the wound unit.

` has been done by hand, whereby the insulation was removed from the terminals and the leads by scraping, brushing or grinding, and the splice also was usually made by hand by Inasmuch as the bare surfaces of wire are highly susceptible to the accumulation of deteriorating foreign matter, such as the excretion from the hands, which, in addition to preventing an` effective electrical bond between theiwires, commonly has a` subsequent harmful effect upon an apparently goed joint causable by thedeposited body acids, which often results in the dis* integration of the joint at a considerably later time. This invention is preferably used in connection with the insulation removing process and apparatus disclosed in the copending ajiplication of Harley l1-I. Heller, Serial No. 79,011, tiled January 2, 1926, which comprises a `process and apparatustor removing the enamel insulating coatingl from wire by subjecting it to a combined rolling and rubbing action between relatively movin element-s jn'ejmratory tothe splicing, solderiiiig or like ojieration 'for the purpose oil a vtaehing leads or other conductors thereto, without touching' the same with the hands` `'This invention comprises4 a process and apparatus for splicing' wires, consists twisting the wires together.,

20, 1926'. Serial N0. 82,477.

in'subjecting the ends of the wires to a twisting operation which results either` in a twisted joint of equally and uniformly twisted wires, or a joint having one wire, usually the tine wire, twisted substantially helically around the other wire in such a manner that an extremely tight and elles tive electrical joint results between the wires, which were preferably prepared in accordance with the aforementioned invention. The resultant joint is of sutlicient tight* ness that, for the relatively higher voltage usages, the soldering operation may be readily dispensed with.

ne type of apparatu process disclosed by this invention consists essentially of coacting jaws which grip the two or more terminals of wire along the length which is to be spliced, and twist them together by a combined simultaneous rotary Vand retracting motion in such a manner that the wires, while being twisted together, are gradually emerging from between the jaws, at the edges of which the twisting action takes place. When the twisting operation is completed, the twisted splice extends between the coil face and the edges of the twisting jaws, the end of the splice remaining jaws, and consequently leaves an extremely short untwist-ed length of each wire which .may be lett as they are or cut othas desired. It therjoint is to be soldered the protruding splice maybe dipped in molten solder or treated with a soldering iron in a manner well known in the art. Other advantages and objects in this invention will become apparent upon examination ot the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of an. apparatus for ellecting the invention and described hereinafter. In the drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts in several views:

Figure l is a plan view of an ajjiparatus for splicing wires embodying this inventions, the other extreme position o't the operating crank being shown in phantom;

Fig. 2 is a plan view ot the twisting mechanism proper, showing' a coil in readiness for having leads spliced thereto;

Fig. 3 is side elevation `of the apparatus, the coil, holding and positioning means be s for effecting the gripped between theV Ying shown in section and its initial position inv phantom;

Fig. leisen end view. showing the .actu- .other exci'ank in ating` gear arrangement and the *treme position. of the operating phantom; Y j "Figi-'5' isan end view of the wire gripping jaw mechanism taken along the line 5 of Fig. 1; Y

Figli is a perspective illustration of the gripping mechanism zat Athe'-'beginning of the twisting action in which the jaws are .closedgl and f .f v i Fig. .7 is'an illustration of. afeoil to` which terminalshave'been spliced in accordance .Withtliis invention. y

Referring particularly .to Fig. 1,A numeral il: .designates a bed. plate .or the like. to.. which 20..1nayi be Yfastened.

-t .which carry nerting crankthavilng vaweight v.theseveral stationary partsof thev machine r-.Rigidly mounted to base twov similar Ystandards and 3 theactuating movable parts of ftlieapparatus, standard)J mounting the op- 5 and'liaiidle. The throw. `ot' crank 4 is plate l1 are 6 ,ati itsA extremity. limited to the lett Fie; 1 by a .pin -7niounted in base-.plate y1,

'30 able 1 .vertically by Imeans Mispinnedto shaft 12 which-.passesstandardandis -fjournalled in lstandards 2. and 3.

"Along-.pinionll wliicliY-is journalled in .standardsg2k and 3 and arrangedso. as to be rotatedjbyfgear 16,-' drives meshing pinions --18,inutil-19.` l i 'y Shafts and leftand arev 20g and 21am,provided with right. qgliand Y; .screw threads respectively,

f -'.eaclitlireaded. through standard 3. so as to .gg. c.

advance or retract Y therethrough depending uponwhichway crank 421s thrown. Accord- -.ingly, the ends ot shattsQO and 21 slip *backY and forth 4throughstandard Q aiid pinion 18 moves longitudinally back. and torthalong .pinion..17,jwhich isniade long for that purl ose. i'

The gripping yheads Z2 are rigidly mount- .ed-onthe extremities-ot rightand left-hand screwf'shat'ts() 421, and reciprocate and jrotate therewith accordingly'.V The relatively stationaryjaws 23 ot .the gripping heads 22 areiastened thereto so asto project .radially .beyond...the in1as illustrated., The extreme Vclearly shown in Figs.

:of .encircling the bodies of' -sition by. forcing opened, by'

as shown in-phantom in ljaws as shown in Figs. 1,

13 is .rigidly mounted Y d liicli' are rigidly ,'inounted on.v screw shafts 20 and 21, respectively.

ends of the gripping heads are notched radially` ior thel reception ol the movable jaws 2lwliich pivot .about the pins 25 as is most 5 and (l, the angular movement of the jaws being guided by arcuate pins 26 which slide in notches provided iii the edges of relatively stationary jaws 23.

The movable jaws 2l have depending lugs Q'towhieh one of the ends el spiral torsion springs 28 are fastened, the coil there- Y gripping heads 22 to which the other ends of the springs are vfastened. Springs Q8 are adapted to maintain `jaws 23 and Q4 in a. normally closed pothe coincidence ol' the jaw faces as shown in Fig. 6. The jaws are the engagement ot lugs 27 with fixed trip pins 2S) in collar 3() mounted on stationary rods 31, which project horizontally' from standard 3, and are adjustable singularly thereon `by means olE set screws 32. Trip. pins Q9 are so positioned that the. wire receiving jaws Q3 and .Z-t are opened at the instant that the lead 4of screw shafts 20 and 21 biingslugs 27 into the proper radial and axial positions to engage them. In brief,

the rotation otlugs Q7 land consequently relatively movable jaws Q4: is stopped at a sufficient interval before the.v rotation o jaws 23 is stopped to effect the opening of the j 2. il and 5, against the torsional retention ve; ..\erted by `sprinters 28 ,to keep the .jaws closed. Anyreverse movementcauses the disengagement of lugs 27 from trippins. 29, whereupon the jaws arel immediately closed by. springs 28, as is shown in Fig. 6.

As illustrated ln'the drawings, the cmvbodiment of an apparatus for @ller-.ting this invent-ion has been adapted for the attachment of lead wires to t. ie terminal wires of electrical coils. The particular coil holding andpositioning means shown comprises a vertical block oo mounted on base plate l, opposite to the twisting mechanism, and having a bitureated bar 34 pivotal thereon about pin 35. The coil holding stud 3G is rigidly rmounted on bar 34 by means of tap screw 37 .and is provided with i collar 38 against which the end ofthe coil 39 abuts.` as is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Il` leads are to be attached to the .coils in the manner illustrated, collar 3S is preferably provided `with lead guide slots 40 so that the leads 41 may be more readily positioned on the coil as desired, as shown in Fig. .2.

In order to insure that coil Il?) is securely held in operative position, a. movable pin 4.2 is provided on stud 36, which is adapted to frietionally engage a point on the inner surface or core of the coil so as to cause it to be drawn tightly around stud 36 so as to be virtually gripped between the lower surface of stud 36 and pin 42. Upon referring to Fig. tl it will be evident that the outward Cri radial thrust of pin 42` is effected by the engageinent of the ehamfered nose of pin 43 with the similarly shaped annular slot in pin 42. A coil spring 44 isl interposed between pins 43 and 45, the latter being actuated by the cam action of the tapered tip of pin 46 which is .vertically mounted in base plate 1 so as tol register with a hole `4'? provided therefor inthe under surface of bar 34. Accordingly, it will be evident that the loweringl of bar 84 `from the position shown in phantom in Fig. 3 into the `subsequent operative position involves the engagement of pin with the tapered surface of pin 42 and the consequent axial movement thereof which is. transmitted by spring44,

to pin 43 causing` the radial movement thereof to engage the core of coil 39. Conversely,

theV raising of bar 34 disengages pins 45 and 46 and pin 42 is consequently releasedffrom coil 39, allowing itVto be readily removed freinet-ud 36. j

Apparatus embodying this invention may be applied to the making of twistedijoints or splices between virtually any kinds and gauges of wire, merely by enlarging or decreasing the sizes of operating parts, or by altering the arrangement and spacing of the twisting shafts to suit desired conditions.

. Likewise, other stationary wire holding or` gripping means, suoli as are well known in the art, may `be used in place of the coil holding and positioning means illustrated and described. f

Having explained the function ofthe in vention and described a preferred embodi nient of Yan apparatus for e'llecting the same, the method and operation thereof will now be further disclosed in Vdetail.` The wires,

having been bared of insulation in order to make,an effectiveV electrical joint, are ar-` The coil 89 is then slipped over etudt,l

whichv is initially in the vertical position shown in phantom inFig. 3, so that the ter` ininal wires 48 are on top and are disposed horizontally when the stud `Sti-is moved into the operative position shown in Fig. 2; lllhen stud 3G is thrown downwardly, `the tapered surface of pin 46 acts as a cain to i move spring-separated pins 43 and 45 lengt tudinallyas a unit, so that pin 45 is actuated bythe tapered surface of pin 46 causing upward radialinoveinent of pin 42 to engage the core of the coil and hold it securely in place on stud 3G in. the manner heretol'ore explained and illustrated by the longitudinal liesive tape 49, illustrated in Figs. 2 and 7,

a metallic clip, not shown, or any other means of fasteningmay be utilized to hold the wires in. place.

The projecting ends of the wires, which are to be vjoined together, lie in the open jaws and 24, which are held open by the en- @agement Vof tri) nns 29 with lues 27 `onv zo t, v n

jaws-24. The extent of jaw opening is gov- Vcrned and limited by adjustable stud 8 against which operating crank 4 strikes at one extrcineliinit of its throw. rlhe adjustment of stud 8 accordingly varies the travel `of screw rods 20 and 21 to which the wire gripping heads 22 are rigidly attached, and

hence the extent of engagement of lugs 27 c with trip pins 29 and the consequent jaw opening maybe adjusted as desired. Thus the smaller and larger gauge wires are provided for by the adjustment of stud 8.l This adjustment may also be effected by the radial alteration of the position of trip pins 29.

Upon a slight angular upward movement of operating crank 4 frein the position shown `in Fig. 1, lugs27 will become `discrigagedfroin trip pins 29,v and coiled springs 28 will effect the gripping closure of jaws 23 and 24upon the wires lying between them. Further motionof operating crank 4 through its complete arc, which is limited by its engagement with pin 7, revolves gears 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 and 19 to effect the rotation of screw rods -20 and 21 `which are threaded through stationary standard The rotation of .screw rods 20 and 21 `causes the simultaneous eccentric rotation and progressive retraction 'of` grippin jaw heads 22 away from coil 29,1arnl4 the consequent gradual withdrawal of the jaws from the wires they grip. The combined rotation and retraction of grippingheads 22 causes the wires to be twisted together at the point where they emerge from the edge of the jaws as the jaws are `drawn along and to- `ward the ends of the wire;

Inasniuch as lead 'wires are ordinarily of `a larger gauge or stranded,iand consequently stiller than the coil wire terminals 48, the

coil wire is tightly bound helica-lly around `the terminal, therebyrnaking a very tight splice whiclris so effective electrically that subsefpient soldering may often be disjiensed with, especially when a` relatively high volt-- age is'putilized gauge are spliced, they are uniformly twisted around each other `tomake a symmetrical helicaljoint." i i i' i then wires of `the saine coilzisshownin'Fig; 7', the leads 4l being ready'for attachment toY the terminals yappavratas, and'ftlae: spliced length 50 maybe dipped into a bath of molton' solder or treatedflwith' azpsolde'ring.y iron 'in the well known manner.-

Inl order ito return 4the Vmachine to itsinitally voperative position in. readiness for the-next splicing operation, operating 'crankvfiisitlirown 4over into the positioni shown :in .Figs 1, 3 'and .4, which causesthe which is preferable, .since the trailing wire ,Y ends -arekeptfstraight'thereby.' By`.the use 'engagementof lugs-27 on/the grippin heads 122 with stationary trip pins 29 to e ect they opening of the jawsforfthefreception of `the nexawircsfito be spliceds .Inasmuchf asthe twistingeffecttaks placelat the ed es oiithev` jawsv as: the wire emergesv there rom, thejaws need only-loe o short length'. so that the -wiresare line-gripped; or the jaws may be long as illustrated 'f in`v the drawings and ofcamriand-power. means, ,the voperation .of

' the machine'could obviously `be made semiv automatic inany-ot` the/manners wellf known in' thea-art, and yth'e size "andxcapacity ,of 'fthe machine vcould likewise lie-altered toaccomdmodatevarious conditions.A

While this specifica tionxdescribes and the accompanyingfdra'w-ings villustrate, a .preferred Aembodiment of apparatus -eretfecting the invention, vit will be understood that chengesmay be freely'mad'e'in form and detail-v without departing from-the spirit of the invention-withinv the scope of the appended claims.-

We claimt-, j j fr Y l.: Thewprocessofjoining; parallel wire ends which consistsin gripping the ends atthelbasevof the'intended joint, land retractingfthe grip witha twisting motion along the-wires to be-vjoinedvso as totwistthem together.

2.,The processof splicing wires, which I consists in 'arranging` them parallelly, gripping the-m at the base-of theintended splice, and retracting the igrip-with'a rotary motion Y alongthe wires so asfto twist-them together.v i' 3. The method-fof attaching lead wires totheterminal .Wires of "ani electrical coil,

'whichfconsists in-layingthe lead wiresparf allel tothe terminal wires,;grippin y.length of Ywires tof be spliced, andy gra ually i the decreasing-fthe gripped' lengthv with= a retro- 1 l gressive twisting action.

f "4.: Tvhe'm'ethod4 of thefterminal wires of an electricalicoil, which consists in gripping'the paralleliwiresnat. the

attaching lead iwires to These base ofthe intended splice, moving the gri -V ping contact Vret-rogressively toward the en s of the wires, and slmultaneously rotating the gripping contnct-totwist vthe wires together.

5. The method fof splicing lead wires to the terminal wires of .electrical coils which consists in gripping the parallel ends of 'the wires, and simultaneously retrlcting and rotatingthe gripI so that 'thewires are twisted together as they are released.

6. An-lapparatus for splicing wire comprising means for holding the-wir stationary-near the base ofthe intendedsplice, means for-grippingat-he wires at the base of the intended splice, and means for simultaneously rotating and retracting said gripping means totwist said wires together.

7. Afmachine forfmaking a twisted wire splicey comprising a means for'holding the wires in parallel relation, jaws for gripping the wires at vthe `lease of the intended splice,

lmeans for progressively retracting said jaws,

and lmeans for rotating said jaws simultaneou'sly with. the retracting action.

8. A machine for splicing leads to coil terminalscomprising means for holding the coil, means for parallelly gripping the lend and terminal 'wire ends, and means for simultaneously rot-ating and retract-ing the gripping means to'twistftlie wires together.

9. In a wire splicing machine, the combination ofV coacting normally closed wire gripping jaws, means for opening said jaws, resilient means for closing. said jaws, and means for simultaneously rotatingsaid jaws and moving them parallelto the axis of their rotation.

V10. In a wire'splicing machine, the combination of coasting wire gripping jaws, screwimcans mounting said jaws, means for rotating said screw means to effect axial movement thereof, resilient means for maintaining said jaws in normally closed correlation, andpositive .jaw opening means effective in one position of said screw means.

11. A machine-for making a twisted wire splice comprising ecccntrioally rotatable coacting'jaws, means for simultaneously rotating'. and progressively advancing or retracting said jaws, resilient means for closing said jaws, and lmca-ns for temporarily opening said jaws.

12. A machine for splicingY lead wires to theterminal wires of electrical coils comprising a coil holder, rotatable jaws immediately'adjacent said coil in one cxtreme posit-ion, means for opening said jaws while in said position, resilient means to normally close said jaws, screw means rigidly mountingy said jaws, and means for rotating said screw means to simultaneously rotate or progressively retract said jaws from said ooil.

13. In a machine for splicing wire leads to the terminal wires of a coil,-a rigid sup- YAport forrthecoil, normally closed jews, a

screw mounting the same, means for rotating said screw to simultaneously rotate and ad Vance 01' retard Said jaws, and trip meansto open said jaws when adjacent Said Coil 'for the reception of the Wires.

14. In a machine for splicing leads to a Coil, a Support for the Coil comprising a stud adapted to he inserted into the coil, means for mounting1 said stud pivotally, a radial `pin in said stud, and @am means for pro- 'jeoting said pin outwardly to engage the coil to fix it in position on said stud.

15. In a machine for splicing leads to a coil the combination of splicing mechanism, a pivotal support 'for the eoil,` a rigid haar to which said Support is hinged, a oam means adapted to engage said support in its operative position, and a pin in said support adapted to be actuated by said cam means to grip the coil to said support.

In testimony whereof, We have aliixed our Signatures.

HARLEY H. HELLER. ERICK G. COLSON. 

